Tag Archives: strawberry

GAZPACHO!

Sounds funny, tastes delicious… This is a simple cold summer soup that is loaded with good nutrients and packed with flavor. It should be a staple in your diet whether you’re vegan or not. Ours is made from the following ingredients:
2 bell peppers, stems and seeds removed (I like 2 different colors, in this case yellow and red)
1/2 cup of cilantro stems
2 cucumbers
juice from 1 lemon
5 tomatoes, stems removed
1 jalapeño (optional for the brave)
6-8 scallion onions, chopped just as the bulb turns green, stems diced
4-5 strawberries (optional)
hot sauce and salt to taste

Brent cut up the vegetables into sizes that fit easily in our food processor. The skins can be left on the cucumber for a richer flavor if they’re organic, otherwise I remove most of it if not all.


The tomato, cucumber, peppers, strawberries, lemon juice, scallion bulbs and cilantro stems all went into the processor and was blended until smooth. Afterward I added salt and hot sauce to taste, garnished with scallion onion (you can use cilantro too, if you like). and served with grilled cashew cheese sammiches. It hit the spot after a day in the muggy Florida heat. Let me know what you think!

This is Christie, signing off!

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Bitter Melon Salad!

Bitter melon or ampalaya is one of those weird ones, you guys, but I grew up eating it.

Bitter melon is not my favorite thing to eat. In fact, it’s because of its health benefits that I endure its bitter flavor: they don’t call it “bitter” because of its jealousy and resentment. Some of its heath benefits include: lowering insulin (which benefits those with diabetes) and killing bacteria and viruses. It also helps keep the blood clean and improves blood flow which means, for a woman, less painful menstrual cramps. BONUS: My dad grows it in the garden. He’s growing two kinds this year: the darker one that I used in this recipe, and a lighter and longer one shown below.

Christie posted a recipe for pakbet using bitter melon. Today, I’m opting for a simple and raw recipe. I made this when I was visiting Christie and Brent over the weekend. Brent unfortunately could not try it because of an allergy, but I am happy to say that this is Christie-approved!

Bitter Melon Salad

1 bitter melon
1/2 onion, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
salt

First, slice the bitter melon in half, lengthwise. Then, degut it. I used a teaspoon to scoop out the guts.

Slice up the melon, toss it into a bowl, and add 2-3 tbsp of salt. Then add cold water to the bowl and let it soak for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, drain and rinse the bitter melon. Toss it into another bowl with the tomato and onion, add salt to taste (I suggest at least a teaspoon), mix it up, and eat it!

I spotted some strawberries in the fridge while the bitter melon was soaking and came up with a wacky idea: bitter melon salad with strawberry and onion!

OMG what a wonderful combination and no salt required! It has this great sweet explosion followed by bitter followed by sweet and the onion ties it all together. YUM YUM YUM.

Don’t be afraid of bitter melon! It has awesome health benefits. Visit the National Bitter Melon Council to learn more. I expect that both Christie and I will offer up more bitter melon recipes. I know I have a lot more to say about the magical ampalaya. In the meantime, be on the lookout and try it if you find it. –Melissa

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Mango Madness and a Milestone!

Guess what?! Today is the six month anniversary of Turning Veganese! Wooot!!!! It’s been six months since I decided to go vegan. I can’t believe it. I never dreamed that the blog would become what it is. I had no idea how much I would learn about cooking, food and myself. I can’t believe that it’s only been six months! I’m so thrilled and… goodness, I wish I had planned better for this day because I have so much to say but no idea how to say it.

So, I’ll say this: I am so grateful. Grateful that I can share this with Christie and Brent. Grateful for how rewarding going vegan has been for me personally. And I am especially grateful for you. Yes, YOU! Our lovely and loyal readers. All of your support, comments, knowledge sharing and humor has meant a lot to me. I think I speak for Christie and Brent when I say that we are happy to have met you and to have joined your community.

Lest I embarrass myself, let me get back to business. It is our anniversary week, but I feel like we should declare this week MANGO WEEK on Turning Veganese.

Noooo, not THAT Mango. The fruit!

Oh hello, delicious goodness! This concoction was fresh and easy. I took a manila mango and made three big slices, cutting as close to the pit as I could. I took the two “ends” and used a melon baller to scoop out the meat. Why? Because balls are pretty. Heh. Balls. Ahem. Next, I cut up some strawberries and threw it in the mix. I still had some mint, so I topped it with some mint. Finally, I spotted some crystallized ginger, so I finished it off with some ginger bits.

It’s funny… I used to hate mangoes as a kid. I think it’s because my first memory of mango was in dried form. We use both ripe and unripe mangoes in my household. The unripe ones are eaten in a savory style and can be quite tart — another turnoff for a little kid.

It’s a small victory for me whenever I have fruit because I used to be very fruit deficient. I kept a food diary a few years ago and went over a month without eating fruit. Unbelievable!

Okay, I’m back to being really excited about this being our six month anniversary. Yay! I hope you will all do a celebratory dance for us!! –Melissa

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